Anyone that has lived with
chronic pain pays special attention when we hear the word opiate ( or
narcotic) in a news broadcast. Lately the opiate we are hearing the most about
is OxyContin. What is Oxycontin and why is this story spreading terror in the
lives of people with chronic pain?

OxyContin is not a new drug.
It is merely a reformulation of a medication that many people with chronic
pain have used to help them lead a more normal life. OxyContin is a timed
released version of oxycodone, which carries several brand names, the most
familiar are Percodan and Tylox. It is a synthetic drug that converts to
morphine in the system. 5mg. of Oxycodone is equivelent to 30mg. of codeine.
It is the long-acting formulation that makes Oxycontin effective for chronic
pain, but when the tablets are crushed this time release action is broken and
an addict receives a larger amount of the drug all at once.

The new timed released version
is not
appropriate for:

Used PRN. (on an as-needed basis) It should be taken on a regular schedule
set by your doctor

Pain that is mild or not expected to persist for an extended period of time.

It is appropriate for moderate
to severe pain that is expected to persist for an extended period of time.

Recently, the company that
manufactures OxyContin, Purdue Pharma,has removed the highest strength of this
medication, 160 mg., from the market to try to prevent diversion of the drug
to illegitimate dealers. In addition, Purdue Pharma has made a good effort to
stop diversion of it's product into illegal markets. These efforts include:

1. Working with the FDA to
make warnings on labels and package inserts more prominent so no one can miss
them. The FDA strongest warning label called "the black box" is clearly
imprinted at the top of each label and package insert.

2. Giving 500,000 doctors and
60,000 druggists brochures on preventing prescription drug abuse, and will
mail out 800,000 "Dear Healthcare Professional" letters containing information
about the warning that is going on the labels.

3. Distributed kits to help
physicians distinguish between real pain sufferers and fakers that do not need
this type of medication. These kits contain tamper-proof prescription pads for
physicians to use with this medication.

4. Spending tens of millions
of dollars in an effort to develop an abuse-resistant form of the pain
relieving tablets.

The company and all agencies
involved in this battle recognize that this medication has proved to be a
life-saver for millions of pain afflicted people, and want to see that it will
continue to be available for those that legitimately need it. However, media
hype has made it seem as if this drug is causing a national epidemic of abuse
of the drug and is causing a rash of robberies across the country. This simply
is not true.

Recently the state medical
examiners office issued a statement that there were 152 deaths from overdoses
of morphine-like prescription drugs including Oxycontin in the last six
months of 2000.

The South-Florida Sun Sentinal
reported that there had been 152 fatal overdose cases in six months caused by Oxycontin. As the story was
reported other news wires picked it up and published it in national news
agencies. This is an example of how the Oxycontin statistics have been blown
out of proportion.

Meanwhile, millions of people
with legitmate pain problems worry how this news will affect their doctor's
willingness to prescribe opiate medication. Hundreds of patients have written
Purdue expressing concerns over being able to continue to find doctors that
will prescribe OxyContin for them. There could conceivably be hundreds or
thousands of people with pain that consider suicide as an alternative to going
back to living with pain. When you weigh the difference of losing possibly
hundred junkies that are obtaining this drug illegally with the hundreds of
people that may lose their will to live without this drug I think the answer
here is obvious.

The DEA, which controls the
allotment of these pharmaceuticals that can be introduced to the market has
threatened to roll the allotments back to the level that was acceptable in
1995. If you are at all familiar with chronic pain you realize that in 1995
prescriptions for opiate medication for long-term pain were almost impossible
to get, and most people that lived with chronic non-malignant pain were forced
to either go underground to purchase needed medication, or live a hellish life
that no human being should be forced to live.

If there ever was a time to
get visible it is now. People living with chronic pain must write letters to
anyone that will listen and have a possible impact on this situation. Letters
to the editor of your local newspaper, clubs and organizations that may have
some influence with the legislature, letters and comments to publications that
publish articles about opiate medications, anyone the has the power to
influence the lawmakers.

We cannot allow ourselves to
be pushed back into the closet. We must act now or risk losing the medications
that we have fought so hard to get prescribed for our pain. Don't put the
letter writing off. Write today.

Pat Oreilly, 2001

NOTE: On August 21, 2001,
Judy Hall wrote an incredible letter; one of the best descriptions of the
'Pain Patient Crisis' and sent it to the women of the Congress and Senate
hoping to enlist their help for our cause. Unfortunately because of the tragic
events of September 11th, we assume it was put aside or never even read by
those in Washington.

Not long after mailing her letter, found that she
couldn't live with her pain any longer and took her own life in November 2001.

There IS a crisis in this
country today and we think it's high time it's recognized as such. It is our
hope that by making as many people as possible aware of the Pain Patients'
plight, we will get a Congressional Hearinginto this, that will help to dispel
the myths surrounding narcotic pain relief for chronic intractable pain
sufferers. And hopefully stop pain patients from taking their own lives.

There are thousands of chronic
pain patients being denied pain relief because of the stigma that has been
placed on narcotic medications. There are also physicians being prosecuted for
prescribing these same narcotics for pain relief. These brave individuals know
that we suffer with continuous chronic intractable painand only want to
provide us with relief and yet they are being charged with crimes for doing
so!

We believe that the general
public (for the most part) is unaware of our struggles in finding relief for
our pain. And should be made aware that we are out here struggling to find
pain relief.

If all of us together, could
make the general public aware of what Judy so eloquently describes in her
letter to Congress, then surely, surely we might see a 'changing of the tide'
towards our pain, our physicians and what they so bravely attempt to do for
us. And that istry to provide us the relief we so humanely deserve.